Reparations
by Execrator
Summary: Hermione and Draco are chosen as head Girl and Boy. Need I say more? Hermione/Draco Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes:

This story is AU. Dumbledore is still around and the trio are going to attend Hogwarts for their 7th year. This story simply would not be feasible if I stuck with canon.

I don't own any part of the Harry Potter franchise, that's JK Rowling, Warner Bros, etc, etc...although I'm sure that if they wanted to sue me for everything I'm worth, they could probably finagle it somehow, regardless of this little disclaimer.

Enjoy.

* * *

As Hermione sat at her desk, doing one of the summer essays that Professor Vector had assigned, a tawny owl flew up to her window. It perched itself on the sill and tapped its beak against the glass a few times, demanding entry. As she got up, Hermione's heart fluttered with excitement. She recognized this one; it was the same owl that had brought her OWL results a year ago, which meant that Hogwarts was contacting her about something. Hermione had an idea of what that something might be. She had been hoping for the past month that she would be chosen as Head Girl, but hadn't let herself get her hopes up. Now she let herself get excited. She fumbled with the latch on the window and finally managed to swing it open, which allowed the owl to fly in and sit patiently on her bed. She gently untied the envelope from the owl's leg, at which point the owl flew right back out the open window. Hermione walked back to her desk with the envelope in her hand, subconsciously stroking the Hogwarts seal with her thumb. This was it. The moment of truth.

She opened the envelope, unfolded the parchment within, and began to read.

_Dear Mrs. Granger,_

_I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as Head Girl for this upcoming term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are an exemplary student and embody all the principals that the Head Girl position entails._

_Draco Malfoy will be Head Boy alongside you._

_As Head Girl and Head Boy you will be sleeping in shared quarters separate from your normal common rooms. Of course, you will still be permitted to visit friends in your respective houses! In fact, as Head Girl and Head Boy, there is very little that you _aren't_ permitted to do!  
_

_More details will be provided upon your arrival at school._

_Congratulations on this accomplishment. I, and the rest of the Hogwarts staff, are confident that you will make an excellent Head Girl.  
_

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore  
Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Hermione was somewhat shocked at the choice for Head Boy. He had never shown himself to be that attached to Hogwarts; hadn't he wanted to go to Durmstrang a while ago? Still, the surprise she felt was partially a pleasant surprise. Draco Malfoy was quite good looking, after all, and maybe after a while of living in close quarters he might decide to stop being so disagreeable just to make things easier.

Laying on the desk was the Head Girl badge, which had fallen out when she had unfolded the letter. Hermione examined it closely; it was similar to the Hogwarts seal but more ornate, and with a stylized "HG" at the top. She pinned it to her shirt and walked in front of the mirror to admire it. After spending a few minutes admiring herself from all angles, she sat back down at her desk at began writing letters to Harry and Ron, telling them the good news.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Draco flew lazily through the trees on his Nimbus 2001. Sometimes he just needed to get away from his sycophantic parents, and flying cleared his head. He was just contemplating heading back towards the manor when a dark grey owl began to fly alongside him. The owl seemed vaguely familiar, but he failed to place it immediately and gave the issue no further thought. The owl was obviously trying to deliver a letter to him, so he landed and dismounted from his broom. The owl landed next to him and stuck out its leg impatiently. Draco untied the envelope from its leg and it immediately flew away. Draco looked at the envelope and immediately recognized the seal of Hogwarts. He knew what the letter probably contained, but it confused him. Why would that old fraud choose _him_ for the Head Boy position? What about his favorite, Harry-bloody-Potter?

Hoping that it contained answers for him, he opened the letter. He snatched the badge before it fell to the ground, shoved it in his pocket, and began to read, leaning against a tree.

_Dear Mr. Malfoy,_

_I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as Head Boy for this upcoming term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are an exemplary student and embody all the principals that the Head Boy position entails._

_Hermione Granger will be Head Girl alongside you._

_As Head Boy and Head Girl you will be sleeping in shared quarters separate from your normal common rooms. Of course, you will still be permitted to visit friends in your respective houses! In fact, as Head Boy and Head Girl, there is very little that you _aren't_ permitted to do!  
_

_More details will be provided upon your arrival at school.  
_

_Congratulations on this accomplishment. I, and the rest of the Hogwarts staff, are confident that you will make an excellent Head Boy.  
_

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore  
Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Draco blinked and reread the letter. There was still nothing about why he was chosen when there were obviously better candidates out there. Exemplary student? What a load of bollocks. His Dad had probably just pulled some strings without telling him. He shoved the envelope and letter in his pocket with the badge, remounted his broom, and began to fly back towards Malfoy Manor, which was a few miles away. As the air wooshed past him he thought about the choice for Head Girl; it was obvious that Hermione Granger was going to be chosen as Head Girl pretty much from day one. Now he regretted being so nasty to her; she probably hated his guts, and that would make for a lot of awkward tension. He didn't actually dislike her that much; she was a bit snotty their first year, but she seemed really nice now. Plus, she was kinda hot.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"Granger!"

Hermione heard her name called from somewhere to her left. She looked in that direction and she saw Malfoy waving at her, somewhat obscured by the steam from the train. She excused herself from Harry and Ron, who were looking murderous, and walked over to him, trying to keep her face void of any emotion.

"Yes, Malfoy?"

"Congratulations on making Head Girl," he said, holding out his hand. She hesitated in surprise and then took it, shaking it quickly once before letting go. Even with just the brief contact, she couldn't help but notice how soft his hand was.

"Thanks. Congratulations to you too, I suppose. Is that all you wanted to say?" Hermione wanted to cut this meeting short, since she wanted to spend a bit more time with Harry and Ron. She knew she would be seeing less of them this year.

Draco shook his head. "Actually, no. I just want to apologize for treating you so poorly the past six years."

"You wouldn't be saying this if we didn't have to share quarters, would you?" Hermione responded, raising her eyebrows.

"Probably not, but since we _are_, it would be a good idea to get things off on the right foot."

"Fair enough. I guess I'm sorry too, for calling you a ferret all those times."

Draco actually smiled at this. "Don't worry, there are much worse names you could call me. Anyway, I guess we'll see each other again once we get to Hogwarts."

Hermione couldn't formulate an intelligent-sounding response and simply agreed, "I guess," and walked back to the Weasleys and Harry. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all," she though to herself.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"I really thought that the position would entail a lot more work," Draco said as they walked away from Dumbledore's office. "It sounds exactly like being a prefect," he continued with disdain; being a prefect really _had_ been a waste of his time.

"The main point is for us to be role models for the other students. I read it in _'Hogwarts, a History'_," Hermione explained.

Draco laughed inwardly. Already Granger was showing off her intelligence and they had only been officially Head Boy and Girl for three minutes. "I wonder why they chose me, then," Draco responded with a chuckle. He figured he would be able to get in Granger's good graces quicker if he stopped being such an elitist.

"Dumbledore probably has his reasons," Hermione said with no trace of humor, although the grin she wore betrayed her.

"I'm good-looking and rich. That's something those first years can look up to, I guess."

"Well, if you don't give them a reason to hate you, they should like you fine. I think it's a lost cause for everybody else, though."

Draco sighed. "You're probably right." He was not looking forward to trying to rebuild his reputation this year, after six years of being a deliberate douchebag to nearly everybody he came in contact with. "I'm turning over a new leaf this year, but it's probably too late to make much of a difference."

"So you're saying you're going to completely stop being a prat?" Hermione asked with raised eyebrows. "I don't think you can do it."

"I'll only be a prat to people who deserve it. I will try to be considerate towards everybody else, at least most of the time."

"That will be a shock for them, considering that your personality in our first six years consisted entirely of superiority and dislike," Hermione said, panting lightly. They had been climbing this set of stairs up four floors.

"And it wasn't a shock to you?"

"I always suspected there was a bit of humanity in you somewhere, lurking beneath the surface."

"I'm flattered," Draco responded, and he meant it, too. "Anyway, we're here."

They stopped in front of a painting which featured a snake and a lion on a green and red background. "That's not very creative, is it?" Hermione asked. "Do you suppose it changes every year? I've never noticed this painting before."

"That'd be my guess, but I don't remember this painting, either." Draco was slightly disconcerted by this fact; he had walked this hallway many times on patrol and remembered all of the other paintings in the vicinity. He tried to shake off the feeling. "Well, enough on the painting, I want to see if we have a kitchenette," he continued with a laugh before realizing that that was easier said than done.

"How do we get in?" Hermione asked, echoing Draco's unspoken question. "Do we have to answer a question? Or say a password? You would think Dumbledore would have said something about that."

While Hermione fretted, Draco walked impatiently up to one of the canvas and poked the snake. "Hey! I wanna get in!"

That must have done the trick, because a brass doorknob appeared on the painting. Draco grabbed it and turned, opening the painting to reveal the room behind.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hey! A cliffhanger! I never thought I would stoop so low. Anyway, thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note:

No reviews for the first chapter, but some people have got this on their alert lists and whatnot, so that's encouraging! Thanks for reading everybody! Sorry for the wait. This chapter is kinda lacking in hot Draco/Hermione interaction, but it will get better, I promise!

* * *

In front of them was the most opulent room Hermione had ever seen. Granted, the opulence she had been exposed to was all found at Hogwarts, but this was still extremely impressive. By the look on Draco's face, he was impressed, too.

The foyer was not that big, but what it lacked in size it made up for in ornateness. The sitting room was beyond the small entryway. It was done in a Victorian style, with extremely ornate chandeliers and intricately detailed furniture. The carpet was a lush gold and the walls were covered with deep red wallpaper.

Draco seemed to come back to his senses as he said, "Gryffindor theme. If the bedroom isn't green and silver, I'm complaining to Dumbledore."

"Let's check and see," Hermione responded. She fervently hoped that when they opened the door which presumably led to the bedroom, they would find more than one bed. She walked over to the door and opened it.

"It's just the bathroom," Hermione said, surprised. "It looks nice though, and no overt house-colors-theme, that's good."

"Look at that bathtub," Draco said in awe as he stared at the tub, which was comparable in size to the tub in the Prefect's. "Is that solid gold?"

Hermione could tell that all Draco wanted to drool over the bathroom fixtures, which were admittedly the most glorious bathroom fixtures she had ever seen, but _she_ wanted to see the bedroom. "You can check it out later, Draco. I want to see the bedroom. I bet this door will get us there." Hermione pointed at a door that was to their right.

After Draco managed to pull his eyes away from the magnificent faucetry, They approached the door and Hermione opened it. The door did indeed lead to the bedroom, which was every bit as splendrous as the rest of the dorm. There were two king-sized beds with magnificent canopies (as well as Hermione and Draco's trunks at their feet), and the entire room was done in a midnight-blue color scheme that seemed very conducive to sleeping. Hermione suddenly realized how tired she was.

Draco yawned and said, "I'm getting tired just looking at it. It must be what, ten o'clock? Eleven?"

"Actually, it's only 9:26," Hermione answered, consulting her watch. "I wouldn't mind turning in a bit early, though. And I think we've seen all the rooms now."

"I'm disappointed at the lack of kitchenette. We should talk to Dumbledore about having one installed," Draco laughed. The laughter halted suddenly as Draco appeared to recall something important. "Speaking of Dumbledore, didn't he say we would have direct access to our common rooms? I want all my friends to see this place."

Hermione sighed. "Weren't you listening? We're the only ones allowed in here. Anyway, we can find out how to get into the common rooms in the morning. I'm knackered and I need some sleep. You can poke around if you want, but I'm going to bed."

Draco yawned again while nodding his head. "Yeah, it can wait till tomorrow."

Hermione walked over to her trunk and dug out her pyjamas. Sharing a room with Parvati and Lavender, she could just change into her nightclothes with no worries, but what was she supposed to do with Draco present?

Draco didn't seem to have any such qualms, as he had shucked down to boxers and was presently climbing into bed, not having asked her which bed she preferred. "G'night, Granger," he said before yanking the curtains shut on the bed.

"Problem solved," Hermione thought before changing into her pyjamas, extinguishing the lamps, and climbing into her bed.

***********

Draco was up at 6:30, as was his custom. Last year, when he had shared a bathroom with fifty other Slytherins, he had always liked to get up early so he wouldn't have to stand in line for a shower at 7:00 or 7:30. Now he had his own bathroom (well, _mostly_ his own; he liked to think of it as 50% ownership) and didn't strictly need to get up that early, but he had no idea whether Hermione was the type of girl who liked to take hour-long showers. He didn't want to risk having to go to class unbathed because she had been monopolizing the bathroom.

The thought of Hermione in the shower was getting him a little too excited, so he tried to push the thought out of his mind. He quietly slipped out of his bed and walked over to the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, Draco emerged from the shower cleansed and refreshed. He left the bathroom to find Hermione still asleep. He pulled on his uniform and walked into the main room (which he thought of as the den), thinking he would find out how to get into the other common rooms. Crabbe and Goyle weren't the most intelligent blokes around, but they were his friends, and he wanted to talk to them. He definitely didn't intend to spend _all_ of his free time with Hermione.

The den looked much smaller now then it did when they first saw it; the grandness of the room had made it seem bigger than it really was. Draco scanned the room and didn't see anything that looked like it would be an entrance to a common room, so he figured he would walk along the perimeter of the room and try out the portraits. In his experience, most portraits at Hogwarts were a lot more than just a pretty picture hanging on the wall.

The occupants of the portraits were all currently asleep, except for one, who was apparently out visiting a friend elsewhere in the castle because his frame was empty. Draco decided to start with the one closest to him, a pudgy man sitting in a chair who looked to be from the 1800's.

"Excuse me? Sir? Uh, hello?" Draco said in his best attempt to be polite, poking the man with his finger. The man started and then glared at Draco angrily, clearly peeved about his sleep being interrupted.

"Who're you and what do you want?"

"I'm Draco Malfoy, sir, I'm the new Head Boy. Dumbledore said I would have access to my common room but I'm afraid I don't know how to proceed." Draco mentally cringed at the tone of his voice. He was really much more used to demanding things and being generally arrogant.

The man in the portrait, who had seemed to lighten considerably at the words "Head Boy," responded, "Head Boy, you say? I was Head Boy myself, a few centuries ago. 1834, I believe. Anyway, to your question. Do you see that portrait over there, with the hippogriff? That will take you to your house's common room."

"Thanks for your help," Draco said, nodding his head in thanks and walking over to the hippogriff. He walked up to it and was prepared to begin speaking to it (as much as he despised hippogriffs, for obvious reasons), but the Hippogriff simply nodded his head and the portrait swung open to reveal the Slytherin Common room. Draco walked through the threshold and walked over to Crabbe and Goyle, who were sitting by themselves and looked utterly lost without Draco's presence. He had a lot to tell them.

* * *

Hermione woke up and, for a moment, was utterly disoriented. After a few moments of dizzying confusion, she remembered where she was and breathed deeply. She _hated_ waking up in new places. She peeked out from the curtains to determine whether Draco was around. Judging by the emptiness of his bed and the lack of sounds emanating from behind the closed bathroom door, Hermione figured it was safe to take a shower herself.

To be safe, Hermione knocked on the door of the bathroom before entering. She didn't want to walk in on Draco in the nude (although there was a part of her brain that wouldn't have minded too much if it _did_ happen). Upon receiving no reply, she walked in and, after closing and locking the doors, disrobed herself and walked into the shower. Draco had been right in trying to get to the shower early; Hermione regularly took over half and hour attempting to thoroughly clean her untamed mass of hair. By the time she was out of the shower, she realized that she only had a few minutes for breakfast before heading to whatever her first class would be.

She quickly changed into her uniform, grabbed her bag, and walked through the living room and out into the hallway. She spent a second outside the door getting oriented, trying to figure out the most efficient way of getting down to the Great Hall. After a few seconds of reasoning she took a left, opposite the direction they had arrived in the night before.

The five-minute walk down to the Great Hall afforded Hermione some time to think about her new living situation. She had no idea if Draco would want to spend a lot of time in the Head Boy/Head Girl quarters or if he would just hang out in the Slytherin common room. She figured that the latter would be more likely. Even if Draco no longer outwardly despised her, they were by no means such good friends that they would want to spend all their time cooped up together. Hermione also pondered Draco's study habits. Would he want help on his homework like Harry and Ron always had? She was looking forward to letting those two fend for themselves this year. She planned to do most of her own studying in the Head Boy/Head Girl room, simply because it would be quiet and peaceful, unlike the chaotic maelstrom of activity that was the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione realized that her feet had taken her to the Great Hall with her barely realizing it. She walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down across from Harry and Ron, pulling a box of cereal towards her as Ron began to ask questions.

"How was it? Was he a jerk? How many times did he call you a mudblood? Did he get grease all over his pillow?"

Hermione smiled a little to herself. She knew that Ron would react in this fashion. "It was just fine. Draco seems a lot more civil this year."

The tips of Ron's ears began to turn pink. "Oh, so he's _Draco_ now? Well, to me, he'll always be slimy, greasy, ferret-boy _Malfoy_."

Harry seemed about to vocalize a similar sentiment when Professor McGonagall approached them with their schedules.

"Here you are, Miss Granger. Another full load, I see," she said with a hint of pride, handing Hermione her schedule.

Hermione glanced at her schedule. She was taking the same classes as last year, and the first one this morning was Ancient Runes. Draco had been the only Slytherin in that class last year, and she wondered if he was taking it again this year. She had always worked alone due to having no aquaintances in the class, but with Draco being a lot more tolerable this year, she thought she might be able to stomach working with him.

Ron and Harry left the table for their first class, Divination, without saying goodbye. Hermione sniffed. If they weren't willing to accept that she no longer hated Draco on the level that they did, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that they wouldn't be seeing as much of each other this year.

Hermione got up from the Gryffindor table at the same time as Draco got up from the Slytherin table. Consequently, their paths met at the exit of the great hall. Hermione debated whether or not she should strike up a conversation; in the end, she figured that there was nothing to be gained from purposely avoiding contact.

"Sleep well, Draco?" Hermione said in as casual a voice as she could muster.

"Just fine. I got up early and went to the my common room for a while. Everybody there wanted to know how much you had studied or whether you were completely annoying or not."

"What did you say?" Hermione asked, knowing that their budding relationship could easily be destroyed if Draco had the same opinions of her that the rest of the Slytherins had.

"I said you were a lot better this year," he replied.

Hermione felt relief wash over her. "I got some of the same attitude from Ron and Harry. They wanted to know if you'd been a git. I said no, and they didn't like that so much."

Draco scowled but nodded. "I can see where they're coming from. I was a bit of a dick to them for the past six years." Then he smiled. "But they haven't seen the _new_ Draco Malfoy yet!"

Hermione realized that they were almost to the Ancient Runes classroom. She took her chance. "I was wondering if the _new_ Draco Malfoy would be willing to be partners with me in Ancient Runes. It would probably be a lot easier with somebody to work with. How 'bout it?"

"Sure. I would be working with Nott, but he dropped the class, so I guess I need _somebody_ to work with."

* * * *

Draco was getting frustrated. He knew this was a NEWT level class, and that it would be challenging. But he hadn't anticipated being utterly clueless on the first day of class. He assumed that the undone over-the-summer homework was now coming back to haunt him, and cursed himself for being so lazy. Now, during worktime, he was staring blankly at a page of Gaelic runes with no idea how to proceed.

"Hermione, I don't want to seem like I'm taking advantage of your smarts or anything, but I could use your help; I really have no idea what I'm doing here. I guess I spent too much of my summer playing Quidditch and not enough studying," Draco said in what he hoped was a charming manner.

"Sure, I'm just about done anyway. But don't expect this to become a regular occurance." She leaned over to assist him, and he couldn't help but look downwards. Hogwarts uniforms didn't show much in the way of skin, but Draco could see just a hint of cleavage...

Draco forced himself to snap out of it and tried to focus on Hermione's explanations of the Runes. He couldn't believe he was becoming so attracted to Granger this quickly. The fact that they were sharing a bedroom didn't help matters. He didn't know how long he would be able to resist.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes:

And now...the continuation of Reparations.

Thanks to those that reviewed the last chapter. I would apologize for this chapter being shorter than the others, but I accomplished what I wanted to and embellishing it with more words would not achieve anything. :)

* * *

Draco was in the Slytherin common room, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, as usual. They were taking turns coming up with insults for every other student in their year (Slytherins excluded), which Draco would have found highly amusing last year but now found simply irritating. The two of them were so caught up in their fun that they didn't realize that Draco wasn't participating or laughing until Crabbe called Hermione a "a filthy Mudblood whore."

Draco stood up. "What did you just call her!?" He yelled, gaining the attention of the rest of the common room. "Have you ever even met her?"

Crabbe's mirthful expression was replaced with one of confusion. "What's your problem, man?" he said in a half-hearted attempt to be threatening.

"You guys are my problem. This entire house is my problem! I can't believe I was once as closed-minded as the rest of you!" With that, Draco stormed out of the Slytherin common room and back into the Head Boy/Girl quarters.

Hermione, who was sitting in one of the chairs nearest the fireplace and reading her transfiguration textbook, looked up at the noisy intrusion. "Couldn't take it anymore?" She asked idly.

"I don't think I'm ever going back in there. What a bunch of fools. I don't think I can even sit with them at meals any more."

Hermione nodded. "I know how you feel. From my perspective as an outsider, Gryffindors are really annoying too. Harry and Ron can't get over the fact that you're actually okay to spend time with. They still think you're the same guy that you were last year, no matter how much I tell them otherwise."

Draco swelled with pride at this statement. Those words sounded strange coming from Hermione's mouth, but he was flattered nonetheless. He wondered if Hermione considered him a friend. He decided that she probably did. He certainly considered _her_ a friend. And he wanted it to be more than that, he was sure of it now. Now he just had to figure out how to do it.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hermione woke up on the morning of the first Hogsmeade weekend completely oblivious to what day it was. The Head Boy/Girl quarters did not have a notice board like the other common rooms, and she no longer shared a dorm with Parvati and Lavender, who would talk about it incessantly for days in advance, so she had remained uninformed of the occasion.

So it caught her completely off guard when Draco asked her, "So, how are you planning to spend your day in Hogsmeade?"

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. She didn't really intend to go with Harry and Ron. She had enough of them during meals. While they occasionally made half-hearted attempts to talk about something other than Draco, usually that's where the conversation ended up anyway. "I might just stay back at the castle and study."

"You could come hang out with me if you want. I was going to go by myself but it would be nice to have somebody to keep me company. We can even go to the bookstore, my treat," Draco responded with a grin. "We all know that Granger can't resist the allure of the bookstore."

To Hermione's ears, it almost sounded like she was being asked on a date. She figured that it was probably just wishful thinking. "Sure. I guess it'll be nice to get off the grounds for a while. And I supposed I could stock up on parchment while we're down there; one can never have enough parchment." Hermione winced at how much of a bookworm she sounded like but Draco either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Great. We can head down whenever you're ready."

"Alright, just let me get changed into something more suitable," Hermione said, not wanting to wear her obviously thrown-together outfit in public. Also, if this _was_ a date, or even a semi-date, she wanted to look presentable.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

All things considered, the day was actually going pretty well, as far as Draco was concerned. Hermione was easy to spend time with when she wasn't being an insufferable know-it-all, and was actually much more interesting company than his Slytherin friends, who spent their time mocking people and other unpleasantries. Draco shuddered to think that he used to be the same way. It was much easier to be friendly; despite sixteen years of being a jerk to everybody he met, that was more of a product of his upbringing than his character as a person.

"Draco? Are you listening?"

Draco was shaken out of his thoughts by the Hermione's voice. "Uh, sorry, I guess I was just thinking about stuff."

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer. All this walking is making me thirsty."

Draco was hesitant. The two of them had already gotten a few weird looks from other students walking through Hogsmeade, and that feeling of being scrutinized would intensify in the crowded Three Broomsticks. Still, he responded with a, "fine with me," and soon they were inside the packed pub. Hermione went to find a table while Draco went up to the bar to get the drinks. He put down the requisite galleons and said "two butterbeers please," to the ever-present Madam Rosmerta. Soon he had the two bottles in his hand and went back to where Hermione was sitting, against the far wall. He handed one of the bottles to her and sat down.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, sipping their butterbeers. The silence was broken when Blaise Zabini approached their table. "Come on Draco, I thought you had better taste than that," he said with a derisive laugh. "Of all the girls in the school, you choose Granger. What a joke."

It took all of the willpower in his body not to jump up and sock Zabini in the face. A number of snarky replies floated to the surface of his brain but he resisted them, too. "I didn't_ choose_ her. We're friends. And she's a much better friend than you or the rest of those Slytherins ever were," Draco said in as calm a voice as he could produce.

Blaise scowled and walked away, merging back into the large crowd of Hogwarts students. Draco turned to Hermione. "I'm sorry all my friends are total gits. Or should I say, _former_ friends. 'Total gits' still applies, though."

Hermione shook her head. "Don't apologize; I knew that was going to happen eventually. It was just a matter of whether the Slytherins or Gryffindors got to it first."

"I'm willing to bet that we're going to catch some shit from _your_ friends before the day's out," Draco responded.

"_Former_ friends," Hermione said, and they both laughed.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hermione lay in bed that night, listening to Draco's light snoring with a smile on her face. After the day's events (which _had_ included Ron making a scene on Hogsmeade's main street, true to Draco's word), she was certain that what she felt for Draco was more than friendship. A year ago she would never have imagined that she would feel this way about Draco Malfoy. If anybody had suggested it, she would have called them crazy. But there it was, plain as day. She had a crush on Draco.

She hoped that he felt the same way. It seemed likely, given his attitude towards her as of late, but to make an overture and be rejected would be disastrous, both for their friendship and their head boy/girl duties. However, she was in a perfect position to figure out if he really _did_ feel the same way; they were around each other nearly all the time now.

Her head started forming tentative plans of action. Should she wear skimpy outfits? Should she flirt overtly? Find another boy to instill jealousy? "Accidentally" walk in on him in the shower? Casually walk around the bedroom in her underwear? That last idea seemed like it would work, but she didn't want to be that obvious. She could just wait until he made the first move; the old Draco would have probably would have had no problem claiming her as his own, and she didn't think the "new-improved" Draco would be much different. He was still quite forceful even if he was much nicer about it.

As she drifted off to sleep, Hermione wasn't sure about much, but she was sure of one thing: she would make this relationship work.

* * *

Author's notes:

We're getting there! Please tell me what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

This area is intentionally left blank.

* * *

Hermione woke up with a start the next morning. She had been having an embarrassingly vivid dream featuring the one and only Draco Malfoy. She looked over to see if Draco had seen anything. Draco was still asleep, and judging by the tent he was pitching in his pyjama bottoms, he was having a similar dream. Hermione blushed and looked away, wondering if she was the subject of his dream like he had been the subject of hers.

She got up and walked to the bathroom for her morning shower. She would have liked to "take care of business", so to speak, but she wouldn't with Draco in the next room. So she simply followed her normal routine of showering and then getting in some studying before classes. She still didn't know how she was going to get Draco to realize that she was interested in him as more of a friend. She had literally zero experience with flirting, other than what had occurred yesterday on their trip to Hogsmeade. Of course, she new about the general concept, but was afraid that whatever conscious attempt she made to flirt with Draco would be heavy-handed and apparent.

As she cast a drying charm on her hair (sometimes she just couldn't be arsed to towel-dry it) and went to the bedroom to grab her Ancient Runes homework, the thought crossed her mind about asking Lavender or Parvati for tips, but she immediately dismissed this notion. They would probably be willing or even enthusiastic tutors, but they would probably ask about the guy in question (somehow prying the information from her no matter how much she tried to avoid it) and spread it around the school. She could ask Ginny, but Ginny had never needed to flirt; guys were attracted to her without Ginny so much as lifting a finger. Unfortunately, Hermione didn't have that advantage. She sighed and tried to refocus on the runic translation in front of her.

* * *

While Hermione was pondering this, Draco was mulling over similar questions while taking his shower. He had never had problems getting a girl before; he was handsome and charming when he wanted to be, and Slytherin girls seemed to thrive off the verbal abuse he had been so eager to dole out. Hermione was different. She seemed impervious to his charms, and he had no idea how to proceed from this point.

As he was toweling off, he got an idea. It was a bit extreme, but then again, it would take extreme measures for Hermione to notice him. He wrapped the towel around his lower half, then nonchalantly walked into the den, where Hermione was evidently doing some homework. She looked up and seemed prepared to give her usual morning greeting, but upon seeing Draco's state of dress (or rather, _un_dress), she blushed and her mouth fell agape. She recovered quickly, though, and began admonishing Draco for being so immodest. "We might be friends, Malfoy, but that doesn't give you license to walk around half-naked around our dorm. What would Dumbledore think if he walked in on us with you in nothing but a towel?"

"I just wanted to ask you if I could borrow your shampoo, seeing as mine has run out, but if you're going to be so prudish I'll just have to deal with greasy hair for today." This, of course, was a blatant falsity, and he would have to vanish his current shampoo so as not to arouse suspicion, but he had done what he had set out to do; plant ideas in Hermione's head.

As he walked back to the bathroom, Hermione said sweetly, "Of course you can use mine, but didn't you have a half-full bottle just yesterday?"

Draco stopped his tracks. He'd been caught. Damn. "I'm, uh, talking about my other bottle of shampoo. Anyway, I'll just use yours, thanks a bunch," he responded before running quickly back into the bathroom. Draco realized another flaw in his poorly-thought-out plan: Hermione thought he still had to take his shower, which meant he would have to stay in here for at least another fifteen minutes.

Well, it did give him time to accomplish a few other necessary things, he thought as he remembered the state in which he had woken up this morning.

* * *

Hermione still couldn't focus on her runic translations. This was bad because Ancient Runes was only thirty minutes away and Hermione had never, ever missed an assignment. _Ever_. The word "late" wasn't even in her lexicon.

But the vision of Draco's chiseled abs and broad chest would not leave her mind, no matter how hard she tried to focus on the glyphs and signs in front of her. Throughout her Hogwarts career she had prided herself on being (mostly) unmoved by the allure of the opposite sex, but it seemed like that was changing. Malfoy's desperately transparent attempt to show off his body had worked.

With a sigh Hermione gave up the homework as a lost cause and went down to get some breakfast. She needed advice and she knew exactly where to get it.

Ten minutes later, she was sitting at a desolate end of the Gryffindor table, talking to none other then Neville Longbottom.

"Why are you asking _me_ for romantic advice?"

"Because, Neville, you always seem so conscientious and aware of other's feelings."

"I still don't think I'm the best person to ask. Why not ask Harry?" Neville asked.

Hermione glared down the Gryffindor table, where Harry and Ron were chatting animatedly about one trivial topic or another. "He's not the most socially accomplished guy out there, if you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean, but aren't I just as socially inept as he is?" Neville rebutted, sounding confused.

"Whatever," Hermione said dismissively, becoming slightly irked by Neville's reluctance and self-doubt. The point is, even though you don't always know the right thing to say, you never say the _wrong_ thing. So how would you tell somebody you were fond of them? Romantically?"

"I would just say it. Assuming I had the balls to do it in the first place. If you're pretty sure he likes you back, you could probably get away with kissing him too. It depends."

"So, just go in for a kiss, that's what you suggest. Wow, I feel like my life has turned into one of those cheesy romance movies," Hermione said, cradling her head in her hands.

"Movie? What's a movie?"

"Never mind."

* * *

Ancient runes was difficult. Herbology was harder. By the time Arithmancy rolled around, Hermione just wanted to get it over with. It was worse that Draco was sitting next to her for two of those classes, looking completely relaxed. Why would he be stressed, anyway? He had always been perfectly content to let girls come to _him_, and had probably never had a girl-related stressor in his his life.

"Shouldn't you be taking notes?" Draco hissed, unnoticed by the notoriously oblivious Professor Vector.

"Oh. Yeah," Hermione said, cheeks reddening with embarrassment. Not only was she neglecting her homework, now she was neglecting notes as well. The sooner this _thing_, whatever it was, was resolved, the sooner she would be able to get back to focusing on her studies. That is, if she wasn't spending every waking second snogging Draco...

Hermione gave her head a little shake and tried to pay attention.

* * *

Draco knew why Hermione wasn't taking notes. He had enough experience with the fairer sex to know when a girl was attracted to him. It had been somewhat unclear before today, but now with Hermione being uncharacteristically listless and prone to staring at him when she thought he wasn't looking, it was quite obvious.

He was going to do something about it. Draco Malfoy, man of action, had never been the passive type.

After class, Hermione ran off to the library, although how she would ever get any studying done in her current mindset, Draco didn't know. He didn't complain, however; her absence would give him the time to prepare everything for tonight. The plan was already solidified in his mind. He was going to sweep Hermione off her feet.

* * *

Author's notes:

Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up, thanks for your patience. I'm just writing this as I go along so I had to figure out a good way to move forward with the story.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: I bet you are tired of authors apologizing for long delays between chapters. So I will buck the trend and not even acknowledge the fact that this chapter took a long time to get written.

* * *

Just before going down to the great hall for dinner, Draco went over his plan one more time. It wasn't very complicated, but he didn't want to mess it up; Merlin knew he had messed up most of everything else in his life up until this point.

He would just ask Hermione if she wanted to go on a walk with him around the lake. If Hermione needed convincing (which he didn't think she would) he would tell her that he had some questions on their Ancient Runes assignment (which he did). They would talk for a while. Then he would tell Hermione how he felt, and things would progress from there. Easy.

Despite the simplicity of this plan, Draco went over it again and again while trekking down to the Great Hall. The walk seemed to take no time at all, and even being delayed by an outgoing and obviously smitten first year seemed to take no time at all. He stepped into the great hall and spotted Hermione sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table, tucking her hair behind an ear. She was intently reading a tome of one sort or another and looked absolutely adorable doing it. His heart skipped a beat, and he halted in his tracks. He had heard the expression "skip a beat" before, but it had never happened to him. It was a distinctly unpleasant feeling, but the mental state of giddiness that accompanied it was just fine.

People were beginning to complain and edge past him, so he kept moving. Hermione saw him approaching from a few steps away and smiled radiantly at him. He smiled back and sat down across from her and helped himself to a few dollops of mashed potato. He knew he oughtn't be nervous, but he _was_ and he didn't want to make things any worse by overeating. Hermione, on the other hand, seemed to be finished eating.

"You wanna take a walk with me after dinner?" Draco asked as casually as he could.

Hermione looked somewhat confused but agreed. The first and easiest step had been completed. "Cool. I'll just finish up with my dinner and we can set off, then."

Within a few minutes Draco had finished his meal (which included a pork cutlet that he didn't really want, just to prevent Hermione from becoming suspicious). Hermione bookmarked her spot in the book and tucked it carefully away in her bag. Draco could see that there was she wore an expression of excited nervousness. He hoped that his face didn't betray as much information as hers did.

"Ready to go?" Draco queried. Hermione nodded in assent so they got up from the table and headed off towards the entrance hall. She hung half a step behind him and let him lead the way. In no time at all they were out on the grounds and making their way towards the lake. Their silence was occasionally broken by comments on the scenery, which was beautiful all year 'round but even more beautiful in the late-winter moonlight.

"I bet you're wondering the real reason why I'm taking you on this walk," Draco said as they ambled along the side of the lake.

"I know you're not usually the type for idle chatter, so yes, I was pondering your motives," Hermione responded, punctuating the end of her statement with a little laugh.

Draco suddenly became serious. "Well, before I get to that part of it, there's something that needs to be said first." Hermione, sensing that Draco was about to say something important, simply nodded in response.

"There's a reason I was such a berk for such a long time, especially to you. I've never divulged this secret to anyone else; given that Crabbe and Goyle are totally useless when it comes to offering support and that everybody else in Slytherin is malicious to the point where any secret you tell them instantly makes its way around the school, I've never had somebody to tell it to before. It's somewhat of a lengthy story, but I've always been horrible at storytelling, so I'll keep it short."

There was a pregnant pause as Draco prepared for what he was about to say. He did notice that Hermione seemed to have temporarily ceased breathing.

"My father beat me. That's not the worst of it. He - he molested me as well."

Hermione gasped. "Oh, Draco,"

"He was the worst when he found out I had been playing with Muggle kids. He told me about how horrible they were, how horrible _I_ was. By the time I started Hogwarts, I had stopped associating with Muggle-borns altogether. I'm just starting to get over the entire ordeal, and I think you've been a big part of that recovery, Hermione. I mean that. After getting to know you over the course of this year, I realized how wrong my father was."

Draco was going to add more but was stopped by a bushy mass of hair smothering his face as Hermione hugged him fiercely. "If I had had any idea that you went that sort of abuse as a child, I would never have regarded you with such contempt."

"Forgiven," Draco said. "There's something else I need to tell you, as well."

Hermione pulled back, clearly anticipating the news of more atrocities. Draco could see the tears in her eyes and became even more certain of what he was about to say.

"I think I needed to get over what my father did to me before I could say this to you, or to anybody, for that matter," Draco began. He took a deep breath.

"I love you."

He had been steeled for the worst, but the kiss he received in response was the best response he could have hoped for.

***********

Stay tuned for the epilogue.


End file.
